The Price You Pay
by Defiant Vixen
Summary: When Chronos Number Jenos Hazard learns a secret about sweeper Kevin McDougall, he wants answers – and payment for his silence. What does he want from Kevin? Just a simple kiss... ::Jenos/Kevin, Female/Kevin:: R&R please
1. Chapter 1

**The Price You Pay**

**Summary:** When Chronos Number Jenos Hazard learns a secret about sweeper Kevin McDougall, he wants answers – and payment for his silence. What does he want from Kevin? Just a simple kiss...

**Pairings:** Jenos/Kevin

**Warnings:** Kevin is portrayed as a female. Slight nudity. First attempt at writing a Black Cat story. Only two chapters long.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Anime Black Cat or any associated characters.

**AN:** Hello everyone. Yes, as stated above, this is my first Black Cat story. And I do believe it's the first to have Kevin as the main character, first Jenos/Kevin pairing and the first ever Female!Kevin fic on this site. I'm a little proud of that, but also a little disheartened. I adore Kevin and there are no fics for him. Shame, really.

I specialize in GenderBending/GenderSwap fics. It adds a unique twist of things in my opinion, but I do try to keep everyone in character as close as possible.

Any comments, suggestions, reviews and feedback will be greatly appreciated. Give this story a chance, is all I ask. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

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Jenos was perplexed, if not a bit annoyed.

How in the world did a beautiful woman pass right under his nose and he not spot her from a mile away? He was known throughout Chronos for his ability to spy a natural beauty from yards away. He confirmed that by spotting the talented mistress of disguise, the one and only Rinslet Walker. But how did this beauty; slightly tanned skin, dark chocolate eyes, milk chocolate hair with legs that go on for miles get passed him, him, Jenos Hazard of all people!?

Of course, he had never met a woman who was dressing as a guy with an undoubtedly male name like a certain brown-haired sweeper called Kevin McDougall was.

Still, he was intrigued.

Yeah, Kevin, the rookie sweeper with over six months experience was actually female in gender. Why she was hiding was a mystery to Jenos, and he didn't really care to learn much himself. What she chose to do with her life is none of his concern.

Still, he was incredibly curious. No woman should have to hide their luscious figures behind male clothing like she was. Tight clothing or low cut dresses should be mandatory.

He must admit, only to himself of course, that Kevin was quite good looking in her male urban cowboy clothes that she usually wore, but what did she look like underneath those clothing?

He only learnt of her gender purely by accident. He was on a routine mission to scout the area before an important diplomat entered into a secret meeting with a few of his fellow Chronos members when he casually looked into a hotel room, a room that happened to be occupied by Kevin, the sweeper he remembered that fought by his side during the whole Eden fiasco.

It was only a split second glance, but he immediately had to do a double take. Shirtless, but with beige coloured wading around her obviously female chest, Kevin was in the middle of her hotel room, appearing as if she was getting ready to bed. She was quick to change from her dust covered shirt –must have just returned from a bounty- to a cleaner one, but she wasn't quick enough.

Flawless tanned skin, flat stomach, well defined hips, long lithe arms; how did he not know?

But, if he had not seen her get dressed with his own eyes, he would never, ever have guessed that that dual pistol sweeper was a girl. She did a very good job hiding her femineity under those male clothing she wore during her bounties.

After that little unintentional show, Jenos pondered to himself for the rest of the night. Why was Kevin hiding her gender? He came up with a few theories of his own, but nothing that could dampen his curiosity.

He just had to know the truth, not because he cared or anything...

He just wanted to see her real figure as he wondered if she was anything like Rinslet; now she had the perfect figure and wasn't afraid to flaunt it. He was not a pervert by any stretch of the imagine, he just had a sense of wanting to know that over took all his other senses, common sense easily being the first to fade away.

It didn't take him much work to find out where Kevin was staying this time, he merely asked a few of his fellow sweepers, although a few of them were weary of him, Train had no problem telling him of the brunette's current residence. Apparently, she owns a small apartment to which she crashes at whenever she had some time to herself.

It was just his luck that he happened to linger outside Kevin's window while she took a shower. That wasn't how he planned to confront her, but did he enjoy the view!

Her bust was larger and perkier than he had imagined, and he briefly wondered how she managed to bind them into the almost flat-chested state. Her figure was quite curvy, her legs long and slender, yet powerful at the same time. Her skin appeared flawless, yet had small battle scars on her shoulder that appeared to have been made by a knife. She must have had a close call with a bounty or something.

She was busy washing her hair, hair that appeared a fraction longer now that it was wet, her spiky bangs framing her face, regardless of how many times she tried to brush them back with her hands. Soap suds trailed over her naked body, goose-bumps littering her skin as the water appeared to be a little bit too cool for her as she lifted her hand to turn the hot water tap.

However, instead of increasing the temperature of the water, she quickly shut off the water, grabbed a nearby towel, pressed it to her chest to cover herself somewhat and then lifted up her gun that was sitting next to the towel.

Or maybe the goose-bumps was caused by the cool breeze wafting in through the window Jenos used to get his way inside his apartment.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded as she pointed her gun right at him, her eyes narrowed with dangerous intent, but her face was flushed with embarrassment.

Suddenly, her eyes widen with a sense of realization, recognizing the intruder standing in the middle of her apartment and her blush darkened a shade to a red of sheer humiliation and anger. "You...?"

Jenos couldn't help but grin at her reaction. She looked torn between being shooting him in anger or dying from humiliation when she realized that he saw her completely naked.

"Well," he drawled casually. "This isn't something you see every day. Or are there plenty of sweepers cross dressers these days?"

The indignant brunette bristled and clutched the thin towel closer to her body, her finger just inching to pull the trigger. "Who the hell do you think you are breaking into my apartment? Since when do Chronos Numbers act like petty thieves? Or should I say, act like deranged perverts?!"

Jenos couldn't help but laugh as he thought about his current actions. Sure, they were a little unorthodox, so he couldn't argue with that, now could he?

"Ah, touché," he simply replied as he gave a very casual shrugged, acting like the fact that she was almost naked didn't bother him in the slightest. Oh, it didn't bother him at all.

Like he said, he wasn't a pervert, but he was fond of the female form as much as the next guy.

"So, in any case, why are you dressing as a guy?" Jenos asked the question that had been bugging him for a while. "Does anyone else know about you?"

Kevin casted a very weary and suspicious look in his direction as she tightened her grip on her gun. "Why do you want to know?"

Once again, Jenos just shrugged and shoved his hands into his pocket, looking far too cool for Kevin's liken. "Just curious."

Kevin continued to look suspicious, but when she realized that Jenos was running his eyes over her body, she felt somewhat...vulnerable.

Trying to hide her naked body behind the small towel the best she could, Kevin still had an enraged blush on her face, her trusty revolver pointed right at Jenos, aiming for right between the eyes. However, her aim was shaky as she was understandably mad as hell about the intrusion and embarrassed that she was dressed in only a thin towel, barely covering her feminine figure.

She wanted to tell the Number before her to mind his own business and leave, but a part of her felt that she had to tell him, and then try everything in her power to stop him from talking. She might be at his mercy for a while until he found someone else to distract him.

Kevin was no fool; she knew she had no chance against a Chronos Number, especially the state she was in at the moment.

"Could I at least put some clothes on?" Kevin asked with a sense of defeat in her voice as she lowered her gun. "And for you to leave the room?"

Jenos pondered her request quietly for a moment, before briefly wondering how far he could push her before she turned her gun on him again. She appeared to have a mild temperament, except when she was embarrassed by something.

"Nope," he grinned with undeniable charm. "I like the view from here."

Apparently, she didn't need to be pushed very far as Jenos suddenly had the nozzle of her gun under his chin, Kevin, who was now standing in front of him, appeared to be seething in her own skin as her eyebrow twitched violently. For someone with a thin towel preventing her from being totally naked, she could move pretty quick...for a lowly sweeper.

"Then again," he said as he continued to smile, seeming finding this situation a wee bit amusing. "We wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

"You're too kind," Kevin muttered with a voice that was dripping with sarcasm as she began to move back. She knew all too well that Jenos was having way too much fun at her expense.

But she won't shoot...not because she was kind hearted and didn't want to hurt the Number, she just didn't want to cause a racket that involved a lot of noise and near-by sweepers rushing into her room with their weapons drawn, demanding to know what's going on when she was only covered in a towel.

Her life at the moment was embarrassing enough as it was.

"Turn around," Kevin ordered, her eyes and gun still trained on her known intruder.

"Why?" Jenos asked and tilted his head to the side in question, but he still had that infuriating teasing grin on his lips. "So you can shoot me in the back? Aren't you sweepers supposed to be honourable?"

_We all have out weak moments_, Kevin so desperately wanted to say but instead sent him a pointed look and glared at him silently until he finally threw his hands up in surrender. But instead of leaving the room, he simply turned his back to her, giving her a bit of privacy.

Kevin sighed softly, knowing that this was probably all the charity he was going to give her and quickly made her way over to her knapsack on the bed and pulled out a large white button up shirt she usually wore to bed. Placing her gun down for a moment, she dropped the towel, but kept her eyes on Jenos' back.

She quickly slipped on the article of clothing, sighing with a sense of relief as he covered her upper body, stopping just above mid thigh on her legs. The shirt didn't give her the full coverage she wanted, but it was enough for now.

As she did up the buttons one by one, the task made difficult with her fingers shaking for unknowns reasons, probably from the anger and humiliation, she glanced at Jenos over her shoulder, watching him carefully, mildly surprised that he still had his back to her, seemingly respecting her privacy.

Oh, now he respected her privacy!

It was too bad that he was head-turningly handsome. There was no sense in denying it, she found Jenos to be a very attractive man, any woman on this planet would tell you that, but Kevin was insistent that she was not attracted to him. She knows his type; the charming playboy, and tried her best to avoid them whenever possible. They were nothing but trouble anyway

Her inner woman, however, was flattered by his attention. It was rare for a guy as handsome as Jenos was to pay her this much attention, especially when he knew her as a guy. Her sweeper instinct quickly shut up her inner woman, though, reminding herself that she was a sweeper first, and not to trust anyone from Chronos, especially playboy assassin's with charming personalities from Chronos.

As someone with insight into the worlds of both men and women, Kevin knew that all playboys, although flatterers, wanted only one thing and that was to conquer their chosen prey. They were egotistical and self-centred braggers; they couldn't wait to tell all who would listen about that 'something' they got on the side.

Despite her insistence that he was a player, she just couldn't imagine Jenos sitting at a bar while bragging about his date with a beautiful woman to his fellow assassins. She hated guys like that when she joins her fellow sweepers for a night out with drinks. It took all of her willpower not to pull out her gun and shoot them in the ass whenever a guy like that approached her in a bar.

Just like it was taking all her will power not to shoot Jenos here.

But then again, he was a Chronos Number; he'd just dodge it and would only prove that it was a waste of a perfectly good bullet.

Now, with a more reliable article of material covering her body, Kevin reached for her gun, out of habit, but a presence behind her caused her to freeze and then jump a little when a large male hand pushed her hand away from her gun. His hand covered hers easily and she found herself looking that their hands, his slightly paler hand a stark contrast to her tanned one.

"There is no need for that," Jenos said as he stood behind her, his body tantalizing close to hers.

A tingling sensation raced down her spine as she felt Jenos' hot breath on the back of her neck and she physically shivered. She drew in a deep breath to settle her rapidly beating heart, but instead she breathed in Jenos' masculine scent and her heart skips a beat.

"What do you want from me?" Kevin found herself asking, trying to remove her hand from his but her body just would not respond to her inner commands.

Jenos stayed silent for a moment, he too surprised at how his body seemed to be acting by its own accord. He didn't remember the journey to reach Kevin's side, all he remembered was turning around to see if she was done and was surprised to see her dressed in only a large shirt, her long toned legs seemingly disappearing into the white material.

"Just a bit of information is all I want," Jenos said as he found movement back in his limps and took a step back.

Kevin was surprised when she felt a sense of disappointment when Jenos moved away, but she quickly berated herself. She was _not_ attracted to him at all!

"So," Jenos said as he walked casually around her apartment and placed himself down into a chair, once again looking like he hadn't a care in the world. "Are you going to explain why you're dressing as a guy?"


	2. Chapter 2

**The Price You Pay**

**Summary:** When Chronos Number Jenos Hazard learns a secret about sweeper Kevin McDougall, he wants answers – and payment for his silence. What does he want from Kevin? Just a simple kiss...

**Pairings:** Jenos/Kevin

**Warnings:** Kevin is portrayed as a female. Slight nudity. First attempt at writing a Black Cat story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Anime Black Cat or any associated characters.

**AN:** Hello again. Thanks very much to CleverPhoenix for reviewing and Coldsoul1315 for faving. This is part two of my two-shot. I had quite a bit of fun writing this fic, I may have to try again in the future.

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Don't be afraid to review and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy reading.

* * *

Kevin found it hard to believe that Jenos, a Chronos Number of heaven's sake, just wanted a bit of information, about her, no less. Wasn't Chronos supposed to know just about everything about everyone? Is that why he was really here, because Chronos didn't know about her gender?

"Are you going to explain why you're dressing as a guy?"

"Why do you want to know?" Kevin asked after she took a moment to compose herself, outwardly appearing somewhat calm, but inwardly her heart was still beating rapidly in her chest from her close encounter with the handsome assassin. "What do you have to gain from it?"

Jenos thought about that for a moment before shrugging; it's actually nice to see that the Sweeper before him was a tad suspicious and cautious. She wouldn't have made it as a sweeper, if she wasn't.

"I'm just curious," he explained.

Kevin felt suspicion surge through her as she felt pretty certain that Jenos was after something. He had to be, but she decided not to question him. No reason for putting any thoughts in his head at this point in time.

"It's quite simple, actually," she said as she approached the sitting Number, not intimidated by his presence at all. "Think of it as a safety net."

"How so?" Jenos asked as he tilted her head to the side, prompting her to shed more light on her circumstances.

"Whether you want to believe it or not, but being a sweeper is a dangerous profession and if I get in over my head with a sweep, I can simply hide away as a woman for a while, until everything dies down," she explained with a careless shrug of her own. "It also comes in handy if I have to do some undercover work."

She paused for a moment, thinking back to the gruff and rough person who taught her that and she frowned ever so slightly, a sense of remorse appearing in her chest.

"My deceased mentor taught me that."

"Hmm," Jenos hummed to himself as he let the information sink in. "That's actually a pretty reasonable explanation. And here I thought you were just a tomboy."

Kevin couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. She didn't really consider herself a tomboy, but she was self-conscious of her womanly figure. "Now that your curiosity has been fulfilled, you can't tell anyone. I doubt they will believe you anyway."

"Oh, I don't know," Jenos drawled as he climbed to his feet, towering over the shorter brunette as he tapped his chin in thought, that same teasing grin on his lips. "I could always just bring them here while you're having a shower again."

Kevin immediately felt her face burn a bright red, blushing deeply at the thought of going through all this again. "You can't!" she said with a sense of desperation in her voice. "Please, you can't tell anyone."

Something within Jenos softened as he gazed upon the woman before him, her dark chocolate eyes staring up at him with a sense of pleading. She looked oddly...delicate. She was only wearing a large button up shirt and nothing else, her hair framing her face and her skin still damp from the shower made her appear softer. She appeared vulnerable and at his mercy.

Usually, he would relish in the moment, but there was something about her that really tugged at his heart strings.

"I won't tell anyone," he said and as she looked up at him in surprise, he couldn't help but grin a little. "If you do me one little favour."

An expression of defeat mixed with a tiny bit of annoyance once again makes its way onto Kevin's face and she slumps forward a bit. "I knew you wanted something from me," she muttered.

Jenos chuckled and leaned forward so they were nearly nose to nose, inwardly smirking when Kevin subconsciously took a step back, her cheeks staining with red once again. "I won't tell a soul if you...give us a kiss."

"W-what?" Kevin stuttered as she took a step back in surprise, her eyes widening in a sense of bewilderment.

"Just one little kiss," Jenos said as he lifted his hand to show her one finger, making it sound like a very reasonable request.

"Why?"

"Simple, I never let a beautiful woman get passed me," Jenos said, his voice thick with charm once again.

However, Kevin simply folded her arms under her bust and raised her eyebrow at him. She was not buying it. "That doesn't explain why you want to kiss me."

However, no matter how much she outwardly protested, kissing the handsome Number wasn't exactly a tortuous task by any stretch of the imagination. Kevin knew that Jenos was a charmer, no one can deny that, but he was also a Chronos Number, someone who was disciplined and controlled. From what she had heard, Jenos was a man of his word.

It was just one little kiss. It shouldn't do any harm, right? Besides, it's not like she was attracted to him or anything, though she did find him attractive. But they were too totally different things!

"Well?" Jenos asked as he took a step toward her, their bodies now inches away from each other.

"Fine," Kevin said as she swallowed thickly, suddenly becoming shy and uncertain, her heart beginning to flutter wildly in her chest. She wasn't certain why she was feeling so nervous, it was only a kiss, and she's kissed people before. Sure, they weren't handsome and charming assassins, but that shouldn't matter, right? A kiss was still a kiss.

"But just one kiss," Kevin said in a stern manner.

Jenos was slightly surprised that she gave in as quickly as she did, he thought she would pull out her guns and threaten him a bit more, but he was not that disappointed at all. She was a woman after all, and no woman could resist his charm for very long.

Or maybe it was because Kevin here was not an idiot, she knew she would not have been able to defend herself from a trained assassin of Chronos very long on her own. She must have heard about his determination from Rinslet.

Well, either way, he gets a kiss tonight.

Though, he wasn't sure why he wanted to kiss the female. Sure, she looked really beautiful right now, dressed in only an oversized shirt, but it wasn't like he found her that attractive.

Kinda cute, but not attractive. Well, that was what he kept telling himself, anyway.

"Ok," he grinned down at her as he suddenly placed his arms around her, startling the brunette into making a small noise of surprise. "Just one kiss will do."

With an arm around her waist, holding her upright, a surprisingly gentle hand cradled the side of Kevin's face; Jenos leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Kevin's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before they quickly fell shut, plunging her world into darkness. She felt the tension suddenly drain from her body and she practically fell into his arms as he pulled her closer, the thin material of her shirt unable to stop her from feeling the strength and heat from the very male body holding her. Her arms fell limp by her side as his lips moved with expert grace over hers.

She had planned to let him kiss her for only a moment before she'd push him away and threaten him off with her pistols pointed at his crotch, but...he was an amazing kisser.

The kiss quickly deepened as Jenos coaxed her lips to part with his tongue and slipped inside to explore the heated warmth. The force of the kiss forcing Kevin to lean backwards, her unbounded bust pressed tightly against Jenos' toned chest and she grasped desperately onto the collar of his shirt as she timidly started to respond.

Jenos removed his hand from her cheek, only to entangle his fingers within her still damp hair, deepening the kiss as he did so. He was slightly surprised by his body's reaction, so intense and fiery. He had never felt anything quite like this before; Kevin had quite an exotic taste, a taste he couldn't put his finger on by found intoxicating all the same. He tightened his arms around, crushing their bodies together in the process.

The moment that she felt his fingers slip into her hair, Kevin's mind went blank. Before she was fighting her own body to end this kiss before it could any deeper, but it was a losing battle; her body had betrayed her mind and now even her mind was failing her. She lost all concept of time, and if it wasn't for the suddenly screeching of car breaks outside in the streets outside her window, she'd still be lost within the darkness of her mind.

She slowly blinked her eyes open and found herself staring into Jenos' face, that was mere inches away from hers.

Shit, she was still kissing Jenos! How long had it been now?

Slowly, Jenos pulled back and Kevin slumped against his chest, her heart thundering in her chest as she panted from the intensity of the kiss. Jenos, himself, seemed out of breath as well.

She stayed in Jenos' arms that were surprisingly still around her frame, warm and secure, as she took a moment to gather herself into a somewhat more respective state.

"I guess that payment is enough," Jenos chuckled.

Kevin bristled slightly and pushed herself out of his arms, her face once again sporting a blush. Was it common for a woman of her age to become flustered this much?

"I told you one kiss only!" Kevin said as she hissed at him lightly.

However, Jenos simply gave her an infuriatingly smug look. "It was just one kiss; one drawn out, passionate, mind-blowing kiss."

Kevin appeared flustered for a moment, appearing as if she was struggling to find something to say. "You can't tell anyone now," she muttered after a moment. "Remember, you said you wouldn't."

"Hmm," Jenos hummed as he tapped his chin in thought and walked over to the window. "You're right, but sometimes I can be forgetful. You're going to have to remind me every once in a while."

A sense of hope appeared in Kevin's eyes and before she could stop herself, a question tumbled from her lips. "Remind you, how?"

"With a kiss of course," Jenos grinned as he perched himself effortlessly on the window sill. He then threw out his hand and snared her wrist, tugging her closer to which she promptly fell against his chest again. He suddenly swooped down and kissed her on the lips. She doesn't move or struggle, so he lingered there for a moment before pulling back and stepping out onto the awning. He peered back inside to find Kevin looking at him in surprise that held a tinge of hope and he smiled at her.

"You have a nice ass, by the way."

With those parting words, Jenos effortlessly lifted himself to the roof of the apartment complex, two gunshots ringing out a split second after he did. He peered over the side to find two bullet holes where he was just standing and chuckled.

She was an incredible shot. If he wasn't an assassin number, he would be sporting a couple of bullets in his ass. She was a right little spitfire, wasn't she?

"If you ever break into my apartment again, Jenos Hazard, I won't miss!"

Oh, he was going to have a lot of fun tormenting her in the future.

Kevin released a deep sigh as she slammed her window shut and drew the curtains close with a very harsh movement, almost ripping them off the curtain rod holding the material in place. She turned her back to the window and leaned against it for a moment, trying to gather what little wits and dignity she had left. Her face felt flustered, her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and her hands were trembling.

What the hell just happened?

With a self pitying mew, she threw herself onto her bed and inwardly berated herself for her stupidity. She was a 21 year-old woman! Not some naive teenager with a crush. She was not...

Dammit, she _**was**_ attracted that that idiotic Number...


	3. Chapter 3

**The Price You Pay**

**Summary:** When Chronos Number Jenos Hazard learns a secret about sweeper Kevin McDougall, he wants answers – and payment for his silence. What does he want from Kevin? Just a simple kiss...

**Pairings:** Jenos/Kevin

**Warnings:** Kevin is portrayed as a female. Slight nudity. First attempt at writing a Black Cat story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Anime Black Cat or any associated characters.

**AN:** Hello again. Previously, there were no plans on continuing this fic, but once again, my irritating muse decided to kick me in the head and order me to write. Yes, my muse seems intent on getting me to continue as many supposedly finished stories as possible.

My muse is evil...

Thank you very much; CleverPhoenix and Mullein for reviewing the last chapter.

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Don't be afraid to review and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy reading.

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Chapter 3:

A week has passed since her last encounter with that ever infuriating Jenos Hazard and Kevin found that she was getting twitchy. So far, he seemed to have kept his end of the bargain about not telling anyone about her true gender as no one seemed to be looking at her in a strange way. And she mildly wondered if he had forgotten about her.

Which would be a right blow to her ego; she hadn't forgotten about him at all. Especially not that kiss they shared. It still made her heart skip a beat whenever she found herself thinking about it, how it felt to be in his arms, how much she felt like a woman and not a sweeper.

And he kissed her again. He kissed her twice in one night. And promised to do it again whenever he felt that he had to be reminded about their deal.

If the only way to shut the Chronos Number up was to kiss him, then she'd do it.

But then she would scold herself violently within her head, telling herself that Jenos was only messing with her. She was a sweeper, not the type to be swept away into a guy's embraced and kissed senseless (Let's ignore the fact that that actually happened). As if someone as sexy and unbelievably charming as Jenos would ever, ever be interested in someone like her; especially with some as talented and beautiful as Rinslet to attract his attention.

She really had to get over him. He was not interested in her, particularly the way she seemed to be interested in him.

Wait, no, she was not interested in him. Her hormones just decided that being female was wonderful and forced her to feel an attraction toward him, which was all.

Yeah...

The days following their agreement, she had expected him to make a few obnoxious appearances, making crude comments about her secret and leaving her undeniably frazzled, but she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jenos anyway.

Maybe he was honouring his side of the deal after all.

Still, for a reason she could not fully fathom at this moment in time, she felt a sense of concern. No one had seen from Jenos for a while now.

Typical egotistical moron, taking off and letting others worry endlessly over him. He didn't deserve her concern, but dammit, he won't leave her thoughts.

She...she just wished that she knew what Jenos was playing at so she could develop a strategy to get him off her back and to get him out of her thoughts for good. But right now, she felt as if she was floundering in an endless sea of confusion.

Kevin vehemently insisted that she was only mildly attracted to him; she couldn't see him as the perfect boyfriend material for her.

So why was she constantly thinking about him?

"Egotistical jackass," Kevin muttered as she sighed heavily and rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she leaned her elbow on the table in front of her.

"Something wrong?" Selphy asked her from her position on the right side of her. "What did Rivar do this time?"

"Hey!" Came the disgruntled voice of Rivar from the other side of her, the spiky haired sweeper bristling with a sense of indignity.

Hearing her two companions caused Kevin to abandon her thoughts and to abruptly realize where she was. She was in the bar of Miss Annette, the undisputed 'mother' of the sweepers as she had been one herself many years ago, but was now retired. She had met up with a few of her fellow sweepers to enjoy a drink while they discussed previous bounties and what they should do for future ones.

The bar was pretty packed, even Rinslet was here, speaking with Annette behind the counter and typing hastily on a laptop. What she was working on, Kevin could only speculate. She was always working toward something.

"I didn't do anything!" Rivar continued to protest as he slammed his hand on the table to show his disapproval before quieting down to look at Kevin with a slightly confused and sheepish look. "...Did I?"

Kevin found herself smiling at him and shook her head. "No, it's not you, Rivar," she said as she straightened her posture and ran a hand through her hair, mentally scolding herself for once again letting her thoughts of Jenos consume her. "Sorry, I guess I'm just in a bit of a bad mood."

Rivar looked relieved that it whatever was bothering her wasn't his fault and settled back down into his seat. "What's bothering you?"

Another sigh passed her lips as she thought about how to respond. She can't tell her two close friends what was really bothering her as she had to tell them everything – including her true gender, why she was hiding, how Jenos found out, why he broke into her apartment, why he kissed her and why it was affecting her so much.

Truthfully, she can't tell them why it was affecting her as she didn't know why herself.

"It's complicated," Kevin finally answered, more to herself than to anyone else.

Suddenly, she stiffened in her seat when she felt a presence appear just behind her and the atmosphere of the room change. Before she could turn about to see who was standing behind her so close, easily invading her personal space, she felt a large and warm hand clasp her shoulder that caused a shiver to race down her spine when a sense of familiarity followed.

Jerking her head back to look over her shoulder that the hand was holding, Kevin found herself gazing into the familiar face of a certain dark green-haired assassin. He was grinning down at her, his eyes holding a sense of amusement within their depths.

"J-Jenos?" Kevin found herself stuttering in surprise, but also with a sense of relief. He didn't appear to have any injuries, so she was concerned for nothing. Not that she'd ever let him know that she was worrying about him; she'd rather shoot herself than allow that smug grin to appear on his lips once again.

"Hey there," Jenos said casually, easily gaining everyone's attention, yet seemed to be focusing solely on her. "Long time no see."

Kevin felt her stomach tightened for an inexplicable reason. It had been an entire week since she even heard from him and he just turned up out of the blue, looking as casual and handsome as ever. She wanted so badly to climb to her feet and demand to know where the hell he's been all this time.

But she had to think rationally. He was a grown man and an assassin; he could do whatever the hell he wanted. And it wasn't like there was any sort of spark between them. She had no reason to demand anything from him.

Still, since he knew so much about her, it was only fair that she wanted to know something from him in return, right?

"Jenos?" Rinslet's voice interrupted their unintentionally staring match as she practically marched her way over to Jenos. She had her hands curled into fists by her side and her brow was creased. "What are you doing here?"

To the untrained eye she appeared annoyed, but Kevin knew that she was worried about Jenos as well. It was uncommon for Jenos to take off for a week without at least ringing Rinslet in attempt to get her to go on a date with him in some form or another.

Upon turning his gaze to the purple-haired female, Jenos moved his hand from Kevin's shoulder rather quickly and swept his way over to Rinslet, taking one of her hands in his and kissing the back of it. "I'm here to have a nice romantic chat with my number one lady," he said in a very charming voice that was enough to receive a blush from the talented thief.

However, Rinslet wasn't the type to fall for his charms so easily (unlike Kevin, it seemed) and immediately tore her hand out of his grip as her eyebrow gave a twitch. "Get a grip, Romeo," she all but snorted at him. "Where have you been?"

"I was on a secret and dangerous mission," Jenos replied dramatically. "So bleak were my trails that it was the thought of you that kept me going."

Rinslet once again gave a mirthless snort. "Oh, please..."

Kevin watched the exchange and found, alarmingly, that she was gritting her teeth in annoyance, so tightly that her jaw was starting to hurt. Giving her head a quick shake in an attempt to clear it, she slumped back into her seat and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Idiot assassin."

Yes, she had wanted a sign of what Jenos' true intentions were toward her, and now it was obvious; she was just something for him to play mind games with when Rinslet turned him down one too many times.

Now that she knew, it should be easy to get over him and move on, right?

So, why the hell did she feel like her heart was removed him her chest?

Kevin found herself pulled from her musing of confusion once again by another presence, this one calmer and stiller than any of the others and she recognized it immediately to belong to none other than a certain Bio-weapon. She felt a bit of her irritation disappear and sat up properly in her seat.

"Oh, hello Eve-kun," Kevin greeted with a small, yet genuine smile when the small blonde-haired girl slipped into a seat that was vacant next to her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Eve replied in her usual monotone voice, yet Kevin knew that the young girl seemed pleased to have some company.

"That's good," Kevin said as she turned and gave Eve her full attention, trying her best to ignore the impending bar fight between Rivar, Selphy (when did they leave, anyway?) and a few other unknown Sweepers. "How are Sven and Train? Why aren't they here as well?"

Eve's eyes narrowed slightly. "They are on a trail of a bounty."

Kevin tilted her head to the side in question. That was odd; Eve was rarely separated from Sven, especially during a bounty. "And they didn't take you with them?"

"They were fearful of my safety," Eve replied as she lowered her gaze to the table in front of them. "The target had targeted young girls and assaulted them previously."

Ah, that made sense. Sven worried constantly about Eve, even though it was obvious she could take care of herself and others if necessary.

"I see. Better safe than sorry, Eve-kun," Kevin said with a warm and understanding smile. "I know you want to help them, but if one of them was in danger, I'm sure you would insist they stay somewhere safe as well, right?"

Eve paused for a moment before replying in a soft voice. "...Yes."

"It just means you care for them," Kevin explained as Eve lifted her gaze from the table to look at her unblinkingly. "Just like they care for you."

"You are right," Eve said as a small smile of her own appeared on her lips and she seemed pleased with what she heard.

Kevin felt pleased as well. Not many people could get Eve to smile like that and she felt privilege to be one of the very few Eve had allowed into her heart. She was really a sweet girl; though blunt at the best of times.

Still, she was sweet.

"Kevin-san, you seemed troubled."

Kevin found herself blinking at Eve's sudden statement. "Huh?"

This time it was Eve to tilt her head to the side in question. "Is there something bothering you?"

"...It's nothing to be concerned about, Eve-kun," Kevin replied after a moment of thought with a tight grin. "I just have a headache."

"Isn't that usually the woman's line?"

Immediately bristling in her seat, Kevin snapped around to note that Jenos was now sitting on the other vacant chair next to her. Of course, as casually and inhumanely relaxed as usual. He had this lopsided grin on his lips, his hair prefect as he leaned his chin on his hand, his elbow in the table as he looked at her with an almost sensual look in his gaze.

Oh, could he be any more irritating?

"What?" Kevin snapped at him without meaning to. "I suppose you would know. I bet you get that line all the time."

"Are you kidding?" Jenos scoffed, seemingly unaffected by her moody abruptness. Actually, in fact, he looked amused by it. "The ladies can't get enough of me."

"Really?" Kevin said dryly. "From what I've heard, Miss Rinslet keeps knocking you back, am I right?"

"Alas, that's true," Jenos said as he gave yet another dramatic sigh before leering at her with a knowing look. "But I like them feisty, as you know."

Kevin felt herself stiffen in her seat and desperately willed a blush from appearing. "Why would I know something like that?" she asked quickly.

"Hmm?" Jenos hummed as he raised an eyebrow toward his hairline to show a sense of amusement. "Oh, you were there when that sexy little minx took a couple of pot shots at me."

Sexy little minx? Oh, now she _knew_ he was mocking her.

"That only happened because you're a pervert!" Kevin spluttered loudly as a blush raged across her cheeks.

"There's nothing wrong with admiring the female body," Jenos stated as he gave a careless shrug.

Kevin had to take a moment to compose herself; shutting her eyes, breathing deeply through her nose and then through her mouth. She opened them a moment later and felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Try telling that to Miss Rinslet."

"Hmm?" Jenos muttered before stiffening in his own seat and slowly turned around; his gaze immediately filled the sight of Rinslet glaring practically murderously at him.

"What was that?" she asked in a low voice.

"Kidding!" Jenos immediately exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and waved his hands in front of him in a peace like gesture. "We're only kidding! Right, Kevin?"

"Really?" Rinslet asked with a tone full of scepticism and turned her sharp gaze in Kevin's direction, raising a questioning eyebrow at her to explain further. "Kevin?"

Oh, this was too good to pass up. It was far too funny how Jenos was scared of Rinslet when she was mad.

"He snuck into a defenceless young woman's house-" Kevin started to explain happily, ignoring the look of disbelief on Jenos' face.

"I wouldn't say she was defenceless," Jenos muttered under his breath as he looked off to the side.

Kevin ignored him, despite feeling a sense of smugness that he didn't see her as defenceless. "-by cracking open a window while she was having a shower."

"Hey, the window was already open!" Jenos unhelpfully protested.

"He then confronted her while she was only dressed in a towel," Kevin finished off, casting a quick glance in Jenos' direction, a look that said that she was still annoyed that he saw her in the shower.

But Jenos had this contemplative expression on his face, almost as if he was recalling the memory of their unconventional meeting.

Kevin felt the blush return to her features. _Pervert._

However, that thoughtful look soon disappeared when Rinslet spun on her heel and turned to him, an enraged look on her face. She then started hitting him on the head with her fists, in a rather comical manner. A mere thief bashing the crap out of a dangerous assassin? Priceless! There was never a camera around when you needed one, was there?

"He did what?! Jenos, I can't believe you! How could you do something like this?! I've lost all faith in you, you deranged, egotistical pervert! Jenos Hazard, you're a total jerk!"

Kevin couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself when Rinslet grew tired of pounding Jenos and huffed away, swiftly picking up her laptop and storming upstairs where the bedrooms were.

Picking himself up off the floor, Jenos dusted himself off and cast a look of minor annoyance in Kevin's direction. Wait, was he pouting at her? "That wasn't very nice."

Kevin gave a careless shrug. "Think of it as payback."

"Payback for what?" Jenos asked with a smirk as he dropped himself into a chair that had been moved impeccably closer to hers.

"You know what," Kevin whispered to him when she felt sets of eyes all peering in their direction and she could definitely feel Eve's stare at the back of her head, her gaze filled with justified curiosity.

"No, I don't," Jenos replied as he gave her an irritatingly oblivious expression before leaning forward and whispering huskily into her ear. "Enlighten me."

The blush that immediately sprung to her cheeks caused Kevin to lose any retort that was sitting on the edge of her tongue. "Er..."

"I really don't know why you're annoyed with me; after all, you enjoyed it too, didn't you?" Jenos continued, seemingly unconcerned that the whole bar area had gone silent and they were now the centre of attention.

Kevin could not deny that comment. She did enjoy the kiss. What she wasn't enjoying was the way he was playing with her to amuse himself when Rinslet wasn't available.

"I...Stop messing around with me, Jenos," she said with only a light quiver in her voice, seemingly to spite her. "I'm not in the mood."

"What, don't have the balls to-?"

Jenos didn't even have the chance to finish that sentence as Kevin had moved quickly and stuck her gun under his chin, much like she did in her bathroom all those days ago. But this time, Jenos looked genuinely surprised by her movement, not amused like before.

"Technically, no I don't," she hissed at him as she narrowed her gaze threateningly. "And if you keep this shit up, neither will you."

Stunned silence fell over the bar.

"Ah, Kevin?"

Kevin immediately realized that she had lost all sense of control and abruptly pushed away from Jenos, who still looked undeniably stunned, and climbed to her feet. She felt lost and somewhat dazed, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she fought the urge to scream out in frustration. She could feel eyes all staring at her from every corner of the room, making her feel self-conscious.

"Sorry," she muttered with embarrassment and quickly made her way to the exit.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

Funny, that sounded like Jenos' voice, but with a sense of concern. Nah, it wouldn't have been him. There was no way he'd be worried about her, right?


End file.
